Shulks sacrifice
by LostHighwayEscapee
Summary: The future will change...no matter what it takes. Alternate Xenoblade plotline. Events diverge at the end of the colony 9 assault. Indirect spoilers on account of different plot progression. I would recomend finishing the game before reading just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Xenoblade – Shulk's sacrifice

* * *

I would recomend finishing the game or at least getting a seven character party before you start to read this. There are some indirect spoilers, and as the story progresses certain key events and revelations will occur earlier than they do in the game.

"" = Spoken, ("") = Thoughts, Italics = whispered/subliminal, Bold = loud/overwhelming

* * *

An alternate Xenoblade storyline. Events diverge from the original plot at the end of the colony 9 assault, during the closing stages of the battle with Metal Face.

* * *

Metal face was about to carve up all three of them…then Fiora charged him. She must have already known what was going to happen. Even the air defence batteries hadn't marked that monster, so the mobile artillery had no chance. That shout was of absolute determination though…and it wasn't to destroy that thing…it was to save them.

Shulk knew in his heart exactly what was about to happen. The vision tore across his mind with ever increasing vividness. He's exhausted, the struggle with metal face pushing him to the brink. Reyn and Dunban are the same, both barely standing. There's one inescapable fact though. They aren't dead. And they aren't dead because Fiora has just put her own life on the line to save theirs. The vision sharpens further, colour now entering it. Shulk realises exactly what he needs to do.

"The future…is ours to create…"

Shulk charges metal face alone. The mobile artillery is being thrown around like a rag doll and he knows he's running out of time. He sees metal face raising its claw, the vision and reality now overlapping.

"I'm not gonna let you take Fiora!"

With the last of his energy Shulk leaps towards metal face with the Monado drawn. Thanks to his battle cry there's no element of surprise, but he's drawn metal face's attention away. A claw pierces his shoulder and upper chest. Metal face suspends him over the wrecked artillery, his blood dripping onto a semi conscious Fiora. Shulk loses his grip on the Monado, but he can't help but smile and he finds himself saying "looks like the future…really can be changed" Metal face draws back it's other claw to finish Shulk who finds himself relieved it's not pointing at Fiora.

"…Reyn…Fiora…Dunban…the future…is in your hands now…"

Fiora lets out a scream of pure rage and despair. She grabs the Monado and activates it, stabbing it through metal face's eye. It drops Shulk to the ground and recoils, by looks of things in agony from the attack. Fiora slices the wreckage around her apart and tries to reach Shulk, but he's engulfed by the nearby mechon before she can get to him. The mechon flee along with metal face. Fiora tries to give chase but collapses, battered from her ordeal.

"I'll hunt you down…I swear I will find you…and when I do, I'll ensure that you feel the pain you've inflicted here and then maybe you'll understand…"

Fiora is distraught, weeping openly on the ground. Reyn and Dunban reach her, relieved she is alive. With the danger past Reyn realises the full implications of what's happened. He picks her up, but it's clear he's in shock. Dunban directs him towards his house as he has some first aid there. Along the way Reyn keeps uttering "I couldn't protect him…I promised you, but I failed…I'm so sorry Fiora…You were right to doubt me". Once they get there they treat Fiora's injuries. Reyn slumps with his head in his hands in despair. Dunban offers him some sedatives, but he declines.

"It might take the edge off…but I'm not gonna be able to protect anyone if I'm out of it…Now I've just got to make sure this never, ever happens again, and there's someone else I need to protect, I owe it to Shulk. If I fail cos' I'm too busy wallowing in my own self pity he'll haunt me, and I'll deserve it…If you two don't mind I'll head out. By the looks of things we got hit pretty hard, If I can do something useful I think might deal with this a bit better."

As Reyn gets up to leave Fiora calls to him.

"Reyn…I know you did everything you could…so don't feel like you're in any way to blame."

"Thanks Fiora…I just hope I can tell myself that and believe it."

As he leaves he loses his composure, but manages to hide this from Fiora. With Reyn gone Fiora breaks down again and Dunban cradles her.

"Fiora…you went far beyond what anyone could have expected of you. You did everything you could to save Shulk, and both I and Reyn owe you our lives. I'm more proud to be your brother than I ever thought I could be…"

Dunban manages to hold his composure reasonably well, but tears start to form in his eyes.

Later on that night Dunban takes the Monado back to the weapons lab and encounters Dickson there.

"Dickson…I…I've got some bad news…"

"It's okay Dunban, I know…I just don't know what the hell I'm going to do now. I should have been there for him Dunban…I should've known he'd be willing to go that far...you wouldn't mind leaving me alone for tonight? I don't think I'm gonna be able to keep it together."

"I understand…I know how I'd feel if it'd been Fiora."

Dunban places the Monado back on its stand and leaves.

"Thanks…I'll see you later."

As Dunban leaves he hears Dickson starting to shout at the Monado.

"Why couldn't you have saved him!...no…We could have saved him…I can't blame all of this on you…I should have trusted my instincts over the plan this time...and you know something? Next time I will…"

The next day Fiora examines her remaining injuries. The concussion is fading, and most of the bruising is tender but not severe. Her most serious problem is her shoulder. It's so bruised the swelling has made it unstable and it's dislocated. Fiora twists her arm, jumping it back into the socket. The pain should be severe, but she barely flinches…it's nothing compared to pain of losing Shulk. Reyn comes to the house to see how she's doing.

"Fiora…glad to see you're already up, but don't push yourself; you had a rough time back there"

"Don't worry, no serious damage done. I'm going to the weapons lab, you wouldn't mind coming with me?"

"Okay, but if you're planning what I think you are, be very careful"

The two make their way to the weapons lab. Fiora picks up the monado. She flinches due to her injured shoulder, but simply switches arms since she's ambidextrous.

"You sure about this?"

"If it goes out of control just knock it out of my hand, it's not like it can cut you. I need to see if yesterday was just a fluke, it really seemed to obey me then"

Fiora activates the monado. It initially shakes, but she can hold it still.

"Do as you're told…you didn't save Shulk so you can help me avenge him…that is if you're not just some cursed old relic put here to torment us"

Its resistance fades when she gets angry. She takes a few swings with it, and finds she can now wield it.

"It wasn't a fluke; looks like we've got a chance now"

"The threat I made to that metal faced bastard…that wasn't idle. I'm gonna find him and carve the suffering of everyone here into him. Mechon are normally just like machines, soulless and unfeeling, but there was something different about him. I could swear he was enjoying the carnage he created"

"I'm with you there but we've still got a few problems…for one the Monado didn't actually work on him…that last strike of yours was the only thing that actually did any damage."

"That proves there's a way, and we're not going to find it sitting around colony 9. We need to head out, but not just for that…colony 6 might have been attacked as well...and besides, I need to get the monado away from Dunban. He pushed himself to the limit yesterday and I think he feels some responsibility for what happened to Shulk. He'd probably pick the Monado up again to protect us without a second thought right now…and I doubt he'd survive if he did."

The two of them go to see Dunban

"Dunban, yesterday that threat I made to that metal faced monster…"

"I know you don't make idle threats Fiora, but realistically Shulk was the only one who could wield the Monado, and even then it didn't work"

"I went to lab this morning…I can activate the Monado and with a little effort get it to obey me. I took one of his eyes so I know there's a way to hurt him as well"

"So you can use it as well now…perhaps I shouldn't be too surprised, one thing you certainly never lacked in was resolve, but be very careful, it has a will of its own. I got almost no warning when it turned on me; I only survived Sword Valley because it let me, for reasons I still don't understand, and it still took my arm."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful…Shulk gave me a second chance…I'm not about to waste it".

"He'd be as distressed as I am if he saw you running off looking for trouble with your injuries still fresh though. Take some more time to recover before you set out, make sure you're back to full strength"

"You've got a point, I'm still pretty beat up…I guess I can't hide it from you. Okay, we'll give it a few more days"

"Thanks, it might be worth having a look at Shulk's notes on the Monado. They're surprisingly easy to understand all things considered"

"Shulk always did have a knack for making complex things sound simple. I'll go do that"

Fiora heads out, presumably to the lab

"Reyn, can I have word?"

"Sure, what's on your mind"

"Take care of Fiora, and keep your eyes open for anything that might indicate the Monado is starting to turn. Unexplained pains in particular, that's part of why I want her to recover as completely as possible; any existing injuries might hide these"

"Got it…I'm not gonna let her down again, don't you worry"

"Thanks; I've some preparations of my own to make, but I should be ready shortly after you. I'll catch you up as soon as I can".

A few more days pass by. Fiora reads through Shulk's notes and tests her skills a little with the monado. She finds it's surprisingly easy to wield, seemingly the perfect weight and balance despite being considerably larger than one of her knives. Reyn secretly visits the doctor to find out about the cases of people injured trying to use the monado.

The two of them set out for Tephra cave once Fiora has recovered. Shortly after they discover the dead trade party.

"That's nasty…what did that to them?"

"Doesn't look like it was mechon judging by the wounds"

"….We'd better return them to the Bionis"

Reyn and Fiora return the bodies

"…Hope we don't have to that again any time soon. At least they'll be at peace now"

"We'd better keep our eyes open. Those were armed traders...anything that could do that to them is not something we want to tangle with".

"I'm getting some bad vibes from this place…"

"We should get some sleep before we go on...Reyn, I'll take first watch"

While on watch the monado activates on its own and Fiora has a vision. She can see herself running towards a chamber in caves. As she makes it through the entrance she can see Reyn trying to defend himself against an enormous arachno. He attempts to block its attack, but it's futile in the face of the beast's overwhelming strength. She sees its mandibles tear straight through his gunlance; they don't even slow down as they pierce his chest and emerge from his back.

"What…what the hell was that!"

"Fiora, you okay?"

"Oh no…I think I understand now…."

The two of them are ambushed by spiders

"I hate these things!"

"This is bad…we need to get out of here Reyn"

"I'm with you 100% there…I think this way's gonna be fastest"

The two head deeper into the cave.

"You okay Fiora? Never knew you had a thing about spiders as well…"

"It's not that…the monado, it gave me a vision, I could see…"

Reyn is caught by a stray webbing strand and pulled into the room above

"No! hang in there Reyn, I'm coming for you!"

Fiora desperately looks for a way to get to Reyn. She then sees him running along the ledge above the lake.

"Arrgh, leave me alone! Don't these things ever quit?"

"Reyn, back this way…please!"

Fiora catches up with Reyn at the arachno queen's lair

"Oh no…Reyn, get out there now!"

The arachno queen moves into position to stab Reyn. Fiora draws the monado and charges in desperation. A new symbol suddenly appears in glass section. At the last second she manages to summon a shield, protecting Reyn from the strike.

"I…I did it!..."

"A new power…look out Fiora!"

Reyn intercepts and blocks a strike aimed at Fiora.

"Heh...this thing's got crazy strength; it just pushed me into the ground...and that says a lot about how strong this shield is."

"I don't think it's going to last long though Reyn; we need to take this monster down fast."

"Yeah, those pods are starting to move."

Reyn and Fiora take on the arachno queen and the spider swarm. While their shield fades, it gives them enough time to exterminate the swarm. With this done they find they can outmanoeuvre the arachno queen. Eventually Reyn's taunting gets the beasts attention and it loses focus on Fiora.

"It fell for it; it's all yours now Fiora!"

Fiora gets behind the arachno queen and jumps onto its back. It tries to shake her off, but Reyn smashes his gunlance into one of its front legs. The chitin shatters and the leg collapses; and the arachno queen crashes to the ground. Fiora uses the motion of the descent to drive the Monado through the back of its head. The beast becomes completely still; Fiora climbs off the deceased creature and makes her way over to Reyn.

"Huff...huff…Sorry Reyn. I just wish I could have warned you. The Monado gave me a vision of you dying…It nearly came true"

"Well, thanks to you I'm still here. So, what do you reckon that vision was?"

"I think it was supposed to be a vision of the future…but it looks like we managed to change it"

"Wait a minute…I think I understand now. Back when metal face attacked us, I remember Shulk's screams, he must have had a vision of you dying…"

"But what happened instead was…"

"That was the strangest thing; when he was hanging there…he was smiling. I think he must have realised, he'd managed to change the future"

"He saved me…why did it have to cost him his life?…why couldn't I save him?"

"You're the last one of us who should be thinking like that…I you hadn't made that charge we'd all have been mincemeat. Metal Face had us…and you stopped him. Fiora…I know I'm pretty bad with sensitive stuff so please bear with me…I think Shulk…was happier with the way things turned out than if he hadn't done what he did. I think I understand what was going through his mind…seeing your very best friend dying in front of you, and knowing you should have been able to do something about it…sorry…I'm welling up a bit here."

"You don't need to say anything else Reyn…I understand".

The two of them hug for a while, trying to comfort each other

"Thanks Fiora…we'd better get out of here before those bloody spiders come back"

The two of them emerge onto Bionis knee. The sight of Mechonis greets them.

"That's some sight…I wonder what things are like over there?"

"Maybe we'll find out; I've always wanted to be an adventurer you know. Between the struggles I can see just how beautiful this world really is, and I want to see as much of it as I can with my own eyes"

"I think I'm gonna enjoy travelling with you. You always did have this wonderful knack of making the world seem like a brighter place…

("She's really throwing herself into this, after all that's happened. No…it's more because of what's happened. She must be in pieces inside but she's still doing her best to cheer me up...If there's one consolation you can take Shulk…you saved the life of someone very special that day")".

While Reyn is a little lost in thought Fiora stealthily taps her fingers on his back, mimicking a spider

"Ahhhh, get it off me!"

"Hehehehehe! That'll teach you to zone out when I'm talking to you!"

"I hope I see the funny side of that later"

"Still gonna enjoy travelling with me?"

"…Yeah (blushes). Before we go any further though you might wanna get some rest. You didn't get any sleep earlier"

"I feel okay…"

"Trust me, the last thing you want is it catching up with you when things get a bit hairy"

"Oh alright…I suppose it won't hurt…you might want to be careful though Reyn, you're sounding more like Dunban by the minute"

Fiora ends up drifting off to sleep rather quickly. Reyn watches over her and takes the time to gather his thoughts on what's happened.

"I might be sounding more like Dunban, but you're the one acting more like him. You've got that same absolute determination to protect that he has…and sadly at the same expense to your own self-preservation. I made a promise to Shulk when we were little. I promised him I'd look after you if anything happened to him. I don't think I took it seriously at the time, but I know it was important to him, so I'm gonna make sure I keep that promise. Just don't forget, I'm here. If you're struggling, you need to get something off your chest, you can talk to me. You don't have to try and carry that burden yourself…that's part of what being friends is about"

Reyn stops as he realises he's thinking aloud. He looks over and Fiora doesn't appear to have stirred. He goes back to his thoughts, and looks up at Mechonis. Facing away from Reyn, Fiora smiles, having heard every word.

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere on Bionis a discussion takes place.

"It's not a total loss…"

"That foolhardy little cretin! Why did he have to go and do that! It'll take us decades to…"

"Are you listening to me? I said it's not a total loss; I think we may even already have found a substitute."

"You can't be serious, how could she be suitable?"

"Everything about her fits the bill. Even if she's only a temporary measure, she'd be suitable for the intervening time."

"…That is awfully strange. Convenient though; but I'm guessing there's a catch."

"Indeed there is. She's beyond our influence."

"Even stranger; do you suspect it to be a consequence of fate being disrupted?"

"Very hard to say; she's abnormally strong willed to begin with, but that's not entirely unexpected considering."

"I see your point. Her brother couldn't be directly influenced either and we had to resort to rather crude measures in the end with him."

"There's no need to be overly concerned, we might have to work in a roundabout way but we should still be able to ensure a meeting."

"Very well, I'll trust your judgement. That said we'll need to watch events very closely while they're still unpredictable; we'll commit to a more substantial plan once a cohesive vision of the future is available again."

"Hmm…something about this outcome does seem rather…ironic."

"Yes, we've always tried to avoid leaving things to chance…yet it was by chance we found him…and it's by chance she's taken his place."

"One more thing; our colleague's behaviour has become a little odd as of late. I don't think his loyalty is in doubt but he made it very clear to me he's no longer willing to stick to the scenario."

"I'm not terribly surprised, but I see no reason to be concerned. Given what has transpired he might actually be better suited to salvaging the situation than we are. As long as he doesn't do anything that would obviously be in opposition to our goals I believe we should let him do as he pleases."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

Chapter 1 has been updated - there's now some detail for the vision and the arachno queen battle in Tephra cave.

* * *

A strange dream troubles Fiora as she sleeps. It's more vivid than any other dream she's had, and she finds that she can't actually move. A large quantity of strange machinery surrounds her and she can see it being operated by a very tall female figure. The person seems to be in a state of anxiety, rushing from one machine to the next. She then sees a shutter raising over some kind of fluid filled tank. The liquid is not very clear, but she make out the silhouette of a figure suspended in it. The figure seems to be restrained, but also seems to only have one arm. It suddenly starts thrashing violently, and she can just to say make out a scream. The female figure runs to the side of tank.

"No! please stop! You're not ready…please, don't hurt yourself!"

The figure in the tank settles down a little and starts making some unintelligible noises, to which the female figure responds.

"I'm sorry…please, forgive me for this, but there's no other way now."

Within the tank some kind of machinery descends and starts to interact with the figure. It twitches briefly before becoming still.

"I don't want you to suffer…so please, believe in me. I promise you, I'll help you."

* * *

Fiora wakes up in a little discomfort, having accidently slept on her bad shoulder.

"So what's the plan now?"

"We've got the Gaur Plains between us and colony 6. Might not sound like much but it'll be quite a walk, they cover most of Bionis leg."

"Do you fancy a bite before we set out?"

"Yeah, a walk like that's gonna be rough on an empty stomach. What have we got?"

"A quick stir fry won't be problem, we've even got some veggies growing round here."

"Smashing, have we got ay meat?"

"No shortage of arachno meat!"

"Urrrgh…I don't think I can face them again."

"Think of it as confrontation therapy. You'll find them a lot less intimidating once they've been shredded, cooked and seasoned…and come to think of it you need to learn how to cook."

Fiora gives Reyn a cooking lesson. Much to his surprise the resulting meal tastes fantastic.

"See, it's not that hard."

"Never thought I'd see the day an arachno didn't turn my stomach, that was really good stuff."

"You'd be surprised what makes for good eating in the wild. Giant bug types might look revolting but they're quite tasty if you prepare them properly, and pretty healthy as well. "Maybe I shouldn't have slept through those classes back at school."

"You didn't miss much. I'd already learned to cook by then so I could swap mine for driving and vehicle maintenance."

"So who'd you learn to cook from?"

"Dickson taught me the basics, and from there I mostly taught myself. To put it kindly Dunban isn't exactly an accomplished cook but we've always had quite a few old recipe books in the house so they gave me a good start."

"Well thanks for the lesson; that said learning outdoors is gonna be the best bet. I didn't realise how messy a business cooking could be."

"You'll get tidier with practice…what's that look for Reyn?"

"Take a little look at your clothes."

Fiora looks down to see she's accidently splashed herself with sauce while cleaning up.

"Aw hell, those were my favourites as well!"

"Have you got any spares?"

"Dunban reminded me about little something when I was packing. It's a little bit warm in this weather, but it'll do until I can get these washed."

Fiora gets a bit of privacy from some nearby bushes and gets changed.

"Is that defence force armour?"

"The very same; Vangarre gave me it about six months back. It hasn't had a lot of wear but it's a good fit."

"I take he was still keen for you to join."

"He's persistent but not too pushy. I think he knew I'd be too worried about Dunban to properly consider it right now."

"You had any thoughts about joining then?"

"…."

"Sorry."

"It's okay, and I'm glad it was you that asked Reyn. I know everything's changed now. If you'd asked me a few days ago I'd have said definitely not. I think the answers still no for now; I want to be an adventurer and being part of the force would get in the way of that; but after we've destroyed Metal Face I'll think about it seriously; everyone important to me is part of the defence force now."

"Umm…thanks Fiora…but don't lose sight of your dreams. I'm not so sure about staying with the defence force to tell you the truth. I think now...I just want to be with you."

Reyn realises what he just said and ends up going just about crimson. Fiora ends up struggling and largely failing to supress her own blush.

"Don't panic Reyn, I know what you meant (Do you now?)...hehehe...For someone who's supposed to be rubbish with the sensitive stuff you can be a bit of a charmer sometimes."

"Hehehe!...well, shall we make tracks?"

"Yeah, colony 6 isn't going to come to us."

("What the hell did you just say Reyn?...and I think she might've liked it as well! Shit, shit, shit, shit! It's too soon! Your head's still a mess and she can't be much better!...but you did promise Shulk you'd look after her…but did he mean like that?...And you don't exactly find the idea objectionable; you've always liked Fiora as friend so who's to say it wouldn't work as something more?...Aw hell, just engage your brain next time you muscle headed lummox!...and at least you managed not to start thinking aloud this time…")

("Did he really mean that? You saw his reaction when he realised what he'd just said so…maybe that is how he really feels!...and what do you feel about it? You weren't completely joking when you said he was bit of charmer…but he's still just as devastated about Shulk as you are so…just don't rush into anything. You don't want to end up hurting his feelings…or doing something you might regret…oh hell, you know full well he isn't the casual relationship kind of guy so he won't be trying to take things quickly anyway…but that means that little slip up…")

The two of them manage to remain oblivious to each other's internal meltdown and make their way onto the Guar plains on autopilot. They come back into focus when they notice some smoke rising in the distance.

"Looks like someone else might be doing a bit of cooking or camping. Pretty bad spot to be doing it mind, half the beasties on the plains are actually attracted to smoke and fire."

"You think we should check it out?"

"Yeah, looks like the sort of mistake some kids might make."

The two of them head towards the smoke and find a buggy.

"Well…it doesn't look to be in that bad shape, so why's there no one here?"

"Somebody wouldn't just abandon a perfectly good buggy without a good reason…hang on, I can see some tracks. Looks like homs footprints, and something quite a lot bigger."

"We'd better follow them then. Any idea what the big ones are?"

"Looks a bit like Armu tracks but bigger; I guess that could mean wild Ardun, they're supposed to be pretty aggressive and territorial."

"I remember some advice Miller gave me about those; keep to sides or the rear unless you wanna get gored and trampled."

The two of them follow the tracks and start to catch up with what looks like a boy being chased by two large Ardun.

"Looks like you hit the nail on the head Fiora; kid's in trouble if we don't help him though."

"I don't know how he got in this mess, but heading for the water wasn't a bad idea, Ardun are poor swimmers."

"Hey Kid! You hang in there, we've got this!"

"Who are you two?"

"We'll explain later, you just get behind us; those brutes won't be open to truce offers so this going to get ugly."

"Okay…and thanks!"

"You ready Fiora?"

"I was born ready, time to get wild!"

"It's Reyn time!"

While the two beasts are not short on power and aggression, they're far from being as dangerous as the arachno queen. Their aggression in particular works against them, with Reyn having little difficulty in catching their attention long enough to allow Fiora to flank them. Within a short space of time Reyn lands a crushing blow to the head of one of them, from which it collapses and falls still. The remaining ardun attempts to charge Fiora; she sidesteps it and catches its front leg with a quick slash. It stumbles, but thanks to its momentum its head digs into the ground. As the beast tumbles head over heels there's a crunch; and once it's come to rest on its back it's quite clear it's no longer breathing.

"You okay kid? What's your name?"

"Yeah, I'm alright thanks to you two…not so sure about the buggy though. Name's Juju."

"Okay if I take a look at it? Oh, my name's Fiora, and this is Reyn."

"Can't see why not."

"Hmm, I think I can fix this; the only thing wrong is a ruptured cylinder. You get a lot of smoke when they go, but they look far worse than they are. You've even got some spares so it's a simple case of changing them…like so…and with any luck…it lives!"

The buggy starts again.

"Thanks! You're a real lifesaver. There's a camp just over that way where I'm staying so I'll see you there."

Juju heads off towards the camp.

"What's a kid like him doing messing about on the plains?"

"I think he had something on his mind. We'll probably find out when we catch up with him."

"Those two beasties were hard work. Say…you wouldn't happen to know if there's good eating too be had on an Ardun? They do look like they've got a lot of meat on them."

"Ah, I'll have to tell you an old recipe for Ardun brisket. I got it off a Nopon traveller. What you do is you dig a hole and make a coal fire in it so you can get it really hot. Then you stick the Ardun meat in a pot full of water with a couple of rocks. Then you keep it boiling for a long time and keep topping up the water as it boils off. Once the rocks have gone soft it's ready, and you throw away the Ardun meat and eat the rocks. Ardun meat's unbelievably tough, stringy, and just about flavourless; you'd get a nicer meal cooking your own shoes."

"Ah well, never mind. I reckon we ought to catch up with Juju, see what the crack is with this camp."

Reyn and Fiora make their way to the camp. Before they can introduce themselves Sharla runs up to them and hugs both of them.

"You made it! Please tell me, is colony 6 okay? Did Gadolt make it?"

"Erm…I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"

"You're from the defence force aren't you? "

"We're from colony 9…I guess the defence force gear's pretty similar so I can see how you got mixed up."

"We're actually on way to colony 6 right now; is there something wrong?"

"Everyone here was evacuated from colony 6. It was our home until the mechon launched their attack. They caught us completely off guard…devastated the colony."

"Now I understand that look on Juju's face."

"He's my little brother. He hasn't taken this very well as you might expect. Still, if you're here I guess the trade party made it through."

"Sadly they didn't. We made our way here after colony 9 was attacked by the mechon. I think we found the remains of the trade party in Tephra cave…the arachno got them."

"Damn it!...sorry, what was that about colony 9 being attacked?"

"Sounds like the mechon tried the same thing. They surprised us as well. The attack must've only lasted an hour but…that's all it took for them to kill half the defence force."

"Doesn't the colony have an air defence system? And Dunban…hang on, that's the Monado! Please tell me Dunban…"

Noticing Sharla's shocked expression Fiora quickly interrupts.

"Dunban made it through the attack so don't worry; but still recovering from the injuries he sustained at Sword Valley, and he can't use the Monado anymore. As for what happened, there was new type of mechon at the attack. It was much tougher than anything we've got on record. The air defence batteries couldn't stop it, and even the Monado didn't work."

"A new type of Mechon? It didn't have a face did it?"

"So there was one at colony 6?"

"Yes; from what I could hear over the coms that thing was the main problem; it was just about unstoppable. I did see it briefly while we're evacuating though; it was smashing down the hangar doors with a massive hammer."

"Sounds like a different faced mechon. The one at colony 9 had huge claws…"

Fiora tightens her fists at the memory.

"…and I swear if it's the last thing I do I'm gonna destroy that thing."

Reyn puts his hand on Fiora's shoulder.

"We still need to figure out a way of doing it some real damage first though."

"Well don't give up hope, no matter what. If it's similar to the one at colony 6 I think we did find a slight weakness; I saw the defending squads open up on it with ether rifles as it tried to get through the breach; they did leave some marks on its armour and I could hear them say it was shielding its face."

"So it's not immune to ether? I guess that's a start…and that explains why the artillery slightly damaged it; the shells use an ether crystal accelerant."

"How come you've got the Monado now? You look a little young to be sort of high ranking officer who'd be considered to wield it."

"It was a bit complicated; and I'm actually not part of the defence force."

"You seem to have a pretty good understanding of the battlefield for someone who isn't."

"Most of that's from my big brother. I'm Dunban's sister."

"Oh…I guess it does make sense that you can use the Monado then."

"I guess we'd better introduce ourselves then. I'm Fiora, and this is Reyn."

"I'm Sharla. I take it you are part of the defence force then Reyn."

"What gave it away?"

"Nobody outside of the colony defence forces uses a gunlance except ex-soldiers. Seems a little odd that you'd be the only defence force personnel to make it here."

Reyn grimaces a little as Sharla unintentionally reminds him of how badly the defence force suffered during the attack.

"I'm not acting on orders Sharla. I don't know what the force are gonna do with me when I get back, but right now I've got other priorities."

Reyn glances towards Fiora.

"Well hopefully they'll be understanding about it; we need all the help we can get here to be honest with you. Not sure if you noticed but everyone here is pretty much unable to take care of themselves in a fight due to age or health."

"Good that you got them out though."

"I just wish we hadn't had to leave so many behind. The remains of the defence force covered our escape…Gadolt stayed behind with them…he's my fiancée…"

The colour drains from Fiora's face on hearing this, and Sharla notices.

"…but I'm sure he's still fighting there. Something inside me just tells me he's still alive."

Juju interrupts the conversation.

"And how much longer do you think they can hold out? We need to go and help them!"

"We don't have enough people to mount a rescue, and we can't abandon everyone here. You know as well as I do nobody here can really handle a proper fight and the mechon are still out there. If we try to mount a rescue now we'll risk giving away the camp's location, and if that happens the mechon will massacre everyone here."

"The mechon aren't that smart so stop using it as excuse! What is it you're really afraid of?"

Fiora interrupts the conversation.

"You really don't understand do you Juju? What do you think two people can do against an entire mechon assault force?"

"…."

"I know it's a bitter pill to swallow but a rescue attempt with just the two of you would be futile. At least this way you know you can protect someone."

"And what would you do if someone important to you was in danger?"

"I know what I'd do…and it didn't work Juju. He…saved me instead."

"Oh…I'm sorry Fiora…I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay Juju; I know exactly how you feel right now; but believe me, you'll feel even worse if someone else has to pay the price for your recklessness."

A now deeply concerned Reyn intervenes.

"It wasn't like that Fiora."

Juju steps back from the conversation.

"Sorry…I'll make myself scarce."

"You couldn't have known Juju, so don't feel bad about it."

Juju hurries off into the caves.

Fiora sits down and starts to chuckle.

"I'm such a bloody hypocrite aren't I? Here I am telling him not do exactly what I did."

"It was different back then Fiora. You saved me and Dunban, and we'd all have been dead if you hadn't made that move."

"…Thanks Reyn. I'll go and have little word with Juju; he looked pretty edgy and I don't want him to think he's just upset us. Besides, he's probably had an even worse time of it than we have; we hadn't had to evacuate colony 9."

Fiora heads into caves to look for Juju. Reyn and Sharla get a few moments to chat; Sharla quickly notices the anxiety on Reyn's face.

"Is she okay?"

"I'm not really sure Sharla. She's a strong girl but…everyone has their limits."

"Are you okay Reyn?"

"It's a bit different for me, but thanks for asking. I'm functioning but…I can't really get him out of my head. Shulk was my best friend; but him and Fiora…well, it was pretty obvious to anyone who knew them they were soul mates…"

Fiora comes rushing out of the caves

"Sharla, Reyn, have either of you seen Juju pass by? I can't find him anywhere."

"No, we've not seen him either. He's probably just hiding while he gets his head back together Fiora so don't worry yourself too much."

"I'm…not so sure. While I was looking the Monado did something odd. It was only for a moment but it seemed to activate on its own; but it shut itself down again before I could get hold of it."

"Has it done that before Fiora?"

"You were asleep at the time but back at Tephra cave it did it just before we got jumped by those spiders, when it gave me the vision."

"So, you think it might've been trying to tell you something?"

"I think so, but…something Dunban mentioned to me while I was recovering; while Shulk was fighting with the Monado he seemed to be able to predict the mechon. It hasn't done that for me except momentarily when we were fighting the arachno queen, so perhaps some its powers only work sporadically for me."

"Do you think you missed a vision?"

"I'm not sure but I think it'll pay to be on our guard at least; if I have missed something important we're just going to have to cover all bases to be on the safe side."

"Sorry, but what are you two talking about? Did I just hear you correctly when you said something about visions?"

"It might take some explaining but…the Monado seems to be able to give me a glimpse of the future sometimes."

"Pardon my scepticism Fiora but I'm sure you'll understand if I don't believe you."

"Don't worry, I'd feel exactly the same way if I was in your shoes Shala; but now that it's happened I can't just ignore it."

"Are you sure you're okay Fiora? Can I check your temperature?"

Sharla places her hand on Fiora's forehead. As she does the Monado activates again.

"There! It's come alive again!"

Fiora steps back and quickly grabs the monado. She then has a vision Juju scrambling away from something, followed by Sharla being crushed by a mechon mantrap on the end of a long mechanical tentacle, and then the silhouette of a large faced mechon.

"Got it! We need to find Juju and make sure he's safe right now!"

At that moment the sound of the buggy's engine starting can be heard.

"No! Damn it! We have to catch him; he'll end up in grave danger"

"Got you Fiora, we'll get moving now."

"I still don't believe you about the visions, but I'm coming with you. I didn't think Juju would end up this agitated..."

"Erm, Sharla…"

"No. I'm coming with you. Juju's my little brother; and besides, I know this area better than you do."

"But the vision, I saw…"

"Look, I know we need to find Juju; I don't believe you about the visions, plain and simple, but I'm willing to be proven wrong. The way I see it I've got nothing to lose by coming with you."

"Please, Sharla, listen to me…"

Reyn puts his hand on Fiora's shoulder.

"What do you think Dunban would do if he was in Sharla's shoes right now and he needed to find you?"

"...fair point."

"Okay, I'll bet he's headed towards colony 6. If we head towards the bridge we might be able to spot him."

The three of them set off in pursuit. Fiora has a whispered conversation with Reyn.

"_Reyn…make sure you cover Sharla's back. If that vision is anything to go by she's putting herself in mortal danger by coming with us."_

"_What did you see this time?"_

"_It was a bit broken up but; first I saw Juju on his back trying to scramble away from something, then I saw Sharla getting…caught in a mechon mantrap, and then what looked like a faced mechon."_

"_Okay then, but whatever you do Fiora, don't forget about your own safety."_

"…_what happens if we can't get to Juju in time?"_

"_You didn't see him die in the vision so; whatever it is that attacks Sharla might use him as bait."_

Sharla shouts to the two of them.

"Up there, on the bridge; there's something there."

The party get to the bridge.

"That's the buggy…where the hell is Juju! What happened?"

"I can't see any signs of a struggle so I don't think he's been attacked…ah, I think I can see what's happened Sharla; he must've clipped the remains of that old barrier and it's knocked the suspension out. I'll bet he's just continued on foot."

"He really isn't thinking is he…"

"Don't be too harsh on him Sharla; I can understand how he feels."

"So can I Reyn, but…"

"That sense of desperation; it overwhelms everything else…he's probably not even aware of the danger he's in right now."

"Fiora…was that…"

"I'll talk about it later Reyn; right now we've got other things to deal with…I think I might be able to fix the buggy but…I couldn't really tell you how long it would take so it'd be a bit of a gamble if I tried."

"…We keep going. Juju's on foot as well now so we can definitely catch him if we hurry."

"Okay Sharla; I can see two routes at the end of bridge; which way would he have gone."

"The high road, without a doubt; the lower route leads through Ragnirar canyon."

"Are you sure? It's just that way's crawling with mechon."

"The creatures in Ragnirar canyon are extremely dangerous; he knows it'd be suicide on foot; and he knows how to give mechon the slip."

"Still, he'll have had to keep a low profile and that ought to have slowed him down. We could save some time by going through them."

"That's a lot of mechon Fiora."

"But they're regular mechon; they won't stand up to the Monado…plus I'll bet they'd be heading in the direction of the camp so we'd be killing two birds with one stone."

"Well, it'll feel good to get a little payback after colony 9; how about you Sharla?"

Sharla's already taking aim.

"Less talk and more action Reyn; let's get this done and dusted!"

"Good luck everyone!"

Battle ensures as the party charge the mechon, and Fiora finds the Monado seems to be working even better than before. Its weight seems to have shifted slightly enabling her to take greater advantage of her agility, and she finds she can now perform more powerful buster strikes from a forward flip. More of the mechon descend on their position, but as this happens the Monado starts to give her visions."

"Reyn, Sharla, regroup! They're going to try and surround us!"

The party outmanoeuvre the mechon, some which lose track of them and drop out of the fight.

"Not exactly smart eh? I see where Juju was coming from."

"Just a few more and we'll be clear."

The party destroy the remaining aggressive mechon and head onwards towards colony 6; as they approach spiral valley they spot what appears to be a malfunctioning mechon; on closer inspection it's been pelted with flamii eggs, fouling its sensors. The party make very short work of it.

"That was definitely Juju's handiwork."

"Over there!"

The party spot Juju heading into Spiral valley.

"Why's he going that way? Colony 6 is in that direction."

"I think I can see a mechon patrol by the Bask Cave passage; so I think he's planning on hiding there until they leave."

"What's…oh no! There's some kind of mechon up there!"

The distinctive red glow of a mechon sensor is just to say visible somewhere on the upper layer of the spiral valley plateau.

"Juju! Not that way! Juju!"

"He can't hear us, we've got to hurry."

The party rush towards spiral valley. As they approach they can see the mechon a bit better; it's not spotted Juju yet but seems to be looking for something. As they get closer still they can see it has a large number of what resemble tentacles, each ending in a mechon mantrap.

"Sharla; don't call to him just yet; I don't think it knows he's there."

"And Juju doesn't know it's there either Reyn. If that thing gets the drop on him…"

"Shit…I think that thing was in the vision; the mantrap was on the end of a tentacle. Whatever you do Sharla, stay close"

The mechon suddenly drops down to the lower level of the spiral valley plateau. Juju reacts on instinct and fires a few shots into it, giving away his position. The mechon turns to face him and then drives some of its tentacles into the ground.

"Juju! You need to get away, Now!"

Juju turns to flee but several tentacles emerge from the ground and block his escape. One of them descends towards him, its mantrap ready to devour him. A shot slams into the side of it, knocking it off course and causing it to miss. Juju loses his balance and ends up scrambling away on his back. Sharla reloads as quickly as she can, but the tentacles suddenly withdraw underground again.

"What's it doing?"

"It's gonna strike from underground so you can't shoot it again."

"Juju! They're coming from below!"

Juju notices the ground bulge near him just in time and rolls clear of the emerging mantrap, but several patches of ground nearby start to bulge. Sharla abandons her shooting and rushes towards him in desperation.

"We're not gonna make it in time!"

Fiora can see the vision again; now realising Sharla is about to run straight into an emerging mantrap, but as she does she can feel something from the Monado. A new symbol has just appeared on the glass.

"Then we'll make time!"

Fiora activates the Monado and it sends out a dark aura across battlefield. Fiora, Reyn, Sharla and Juju all feel their ears pop as the air pressure suddenly increases, but the effect on the mechon is far more dramatic. The tentacles fail to emerge from the ground, and the mechon itself collapses. It struggles to try to stand back up and slowly draws its tentacles back towards itself. As it does Sharla rushes over to Juju and gets him back to his feet. They re-join the party just the mechon has brought all its tentacles back; noticing that now it's using them to assist with righting itself

"What just happened?"

"I think it just strengthened gravity for the mechon. I don't think it did it any damage but it's certainly stopped it in its tracks."

The mechon manages to rise again, and the effect of the aura has diminished somewhat, but it's still clearly having a lingering effect, rending it slower and less co-ordinated than before. It deploys half of its tentacles as extra legs before attempting to attack them again.

"Okay…at least it can't overwhelm us now."

The battle continues on more even terms, and it doesn't take long for the party to gain the upper hand. Unable to break the parties defence the mechon flees to the upper level of the plateau.

"It'll attack through the ceiling from there; we need to follow it."

The party make their way to upper level of the plateau. They notice the mechon is back up to speed again and tries to surprise them by sending its tentacles to attack from above.

"Guess it didn't take the hint the first time…"

Fiora activates the new Monado power a second time. The dark aura spreads again, and all the tentacles crash to the ground, short of their targets. A few moments later the mechon collapses, its legs unable to support it.

"Well you know how it goes with mechon; you want to do them some damage, you've got to hit them while their down."

"Couldn't have put it better myself Fiora; let the can opening commence!"

Reyn rushes the mechon and jumps onto it, before stabbing his gunlance into it. He drops down and uses his weight to prise some of its outer armour away. It starts to get back up again and tries to send a tentacle towards him, but Sharla blasts it away.

"Reyn, get yourself clear; I think I've got a little something that should put this mechanical squid away."

Sharla loads an electrical round into her rifle. She fires it into the breach in its armour; a moment later electrical ether tears through the mechon, which then bursts into flames. It totters for a moment and then collapses, its tentacles falling limp. A few small explosions from overheating components follow, leaving it completely wrecked.

"Yes! It wasn't the future, we changed it..."

"I guess that vision of yours didn't come true then Fiora."

"We're not out of the woods yet Sharla; the last thing I saw was a faced mechon. I think we should get out of here right now…"

The sound of a mechon flight unit interrupts the conversation.

"…Fate really doesn't give an inch does it? Better to fight it right here; if we try to run it'll knock us into the valley, and it's a long way down."

* * *

Sorry it took such a long time for me to publish any new chapters for my stories, but rest assured they are progressing, and hopefully updates will appear a bit quicker in future. Thanks to Dreamer's Dark Requiem for encouragement and advice.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

The mechon quickly comes into view. It transforms and then lands. It's a faced mechon, but different from Metal Face; it's shorter, and stockier, sporting heavier armour and armed with a huge hammer. Fiora and Reyn notice another very clear difference from Metal Face; its mouth isn't wired shut.

"I think that's the one from colony 6."

"What do we have here? It's my lucky day after all; four tasty morsels and the Monado."

"Who are you?"

"They call me Xord…don't really know why, but you've got more pressing things to worry about."

Xord looks directly at Fiora.

"So you've got the Monado now eh…hehehe…that coward Metal Face ain't to happy with you; think you might've hit a nerve when you took out his eye."

"Well Xord; let me tell you something. That eye was just the start of things; I'm gonna take him apart next time we meet."

"Getting a bit presumptuous there girlie; you might end up in my belly before they day's out. Still, I like that temper of yours; I can see why you sent him packing."

Fiora activates the Monado.

"Well, well, well; looks like you're gonna make today really interesting. Metal Face was convinced that kid he cut up was the heir to the Monado; so I guess if you survive this I'm gonna have to break it to him that little number you did on him wasn't a fluke."

Xord readies his hammer for the fight.

"Reyn, Sharla, be careful. I don't know how tough this guy is, but if he's anything like Metal Face was we've got our work cut out."

"I hear you Fiora…and you be careful too."

"…we can win…we did drive Metal Face off; so we are gonna make it through this!"

The party engage Xord. They quickly discover he's much less agile than Metal Face was, much to the relief of Reyn and Fiora, but he seems to be nigh on imperious to everything they throw at him. The Monado can't even mark him, and the enchant function seems to make precious little difference. A few of Sharla's ether rounds do leave marks on his armour, but they're little more than shallow cosmetic scars.

"Oh, please stop, you've no idea how much that tickles…hahahahaha!"

"I don't believe this…he's even tougher than Metal Face!"

"Don't panic Reyn, he's still slower so we've still got one advantage."

"What's the matter; you pipsqueaks getting tired? I can send you off for a nice long nap if it gets too much for you!"

The party continue to fight bravely, but Xord shows no signs of any real damage or exhaustion. They find themselves getting increasing fatigued, although Fiora notices that the Monado seems to be providing visions more reliably and with greater warning.

"Dammit, this is just like Metal face all over again!"

"No…it's not Reyn. It's not going to happen to again, you have my word. Just a bit longer and I think the Monado's going to…"

"Fiora, Sharla, Juju…you all make a break for it, I'll keep him tied up."

"That's suicide Reyn! You know there's no way in hell…"

"I made Shulk a promise. I'm not gonna let him down…"

"And you know he wouldn't want you die for the sake of that! Dammit, you're not going to die here, you hear me!"

"You think you're gonna get a choice in the matter? From where I'm standing you're looking like lunch, dinner, breakfast and a light snack. Just a nice bit of tenderising with this here hammer and you'll be good enough to eat."

"You only things you're going to eat are your words Xord!"

A red aura starts to surround Fiora and the symbol on the monado starts to corrupt.

"If ya think a little light show is gonna stop me…"

Fiora charges at Xord. He raises his hammer but then she suddenly accelerates and hits him with a thrust into spinning rising slash, with the light of the Monado having taken on a red hue. The attack breaks apart Xord's outer armour where it connects. As she descends she strikes him again, this time breaking his hammer.

"Fiora, what is that?"

"Something I've been hoping for…butterfly spiral!"

Fiora adds a horizontal charge with a corkscrew motion adding another series of powerful strikes to the combination, and knocking Xord to the ground. Suddenly the light of the monado flickers between its normal shade and the red hue, and the symbol starts to switch back forth. As it does it sends energy coursing through Fiora, and she collapses. Xord slowly gets back to his feet, the light from his body now noticeably different than before.

"Oooo…Bloody hell…Guess that's my cue to leave the stage. Looks like the monado isn't gonna let you have it all your own way but credit where it's due, that was pretty impressive. I'm gonna have to get serious with you next time…and I'm gonna need a new hammer."

Xord activates his flight systems and leaves. Fiora slowly gets back up.

"Owww…"

"Fiora! Are you hurt?"

"I…I'm okay…I think."

Fiora clutches her shoulder.

"Yeah, it's nothing, I think I must've just strained that shoulder I did back at colony 9 again."

Reyn turns a little pale.

("It was the other shoulder Fiora!")

"Don't take any chances. Get checked over once we get back to the camp."

Juju notices the look on Reyn and decides to get Fiora's attention.

"Hey Fiora, thanks! I don't know what you did back there but I think we've got you to thank for still being here. So, where did you learn to fight like that?..."

As Juju chats with Fiora, Sharla has a quick word with Reyn.

"So what's going on?"

"Dunban told me to keep a close eye on her in case the monado started to turn. I reckon that was the first sign. Keep an eye out for any sort of unexplained pains, but don't bring it to her attention when you examine her or try to explain it away as something else. If she realises what's going on she'll start to hide the symptoms, so we won't know if it's progressing until it's too late."

"Why would she do that?"

"She doesn't want anyone to worry about her. One thing her and Dunban have in common is they'll think nothing of the cost to themselves when it comes to protecting those important to them, and she'd think we'd end up dropping our guards trying to keep an eye out for her."

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating a bit Reyn?"

"Back at colony 9 she nearly died saving me and Dunban by charging metal face without a single thought for her own safety. She would've if hadn't been for Shulk. I'm not sure but I think she still feels some sort of sense of failure as well, and I don't think she'll rest until we bring Metal Face down."

Sharla notices Reyn's crestfallen expression.

"Are you sure it's not you that feels that way?"

"I guess I'll have to be honest with you Sharla; yes, I do feel like that. I know she doesn't blame me for it, just as I know I can't possibly blame her in any way, but we both feel we somehow failed him that day."

Sharla dwells on this for a moment.

"Do you want me to have a word with her? I have some experience with counselling so I think I might be able to help a little; at least perhaps convince her it's okay to ask for help."

"I'd really appreciate that Sharla. I've tried my best but I'm rubbish with the sensitive stuff; it ended up more like it was her comforting me."

"Actually, can I have a talk with you as well?"

"Sure…but why with me?"

"Well…no offence, but you don't seem to be handling this whole situation very well yourself. I know things were looking pretty bad back there but I could tell from Fiora's reaction you're not the sort of guy who'd normally consider something that'd basically amount to suicide."

"It hadn't really crossed my mind. I just didn't even consider that I'd have died back there if we'd done that."

"Are you sure that's all there is to it?"

"…I suppose there is something else. I failed her. I promised her I'd look after Shulk, but he died trying to save her. He wasn't even supposed to end up on the battlefield. He was an engineer for Bionis sake! Fighting mechon; that's supposed to me my job. He shouldn't have had to do that."

"You can't blame yourself for that; it was out of your hands."

"No, there's more to it than that. I can't throw this doubt in my mind that if I could've just found the will to do what he did, I might've been able to survive. I'm trained for this sort of thing…but I just couldn't."

Reyn's composure starts to falter and his voice breaks somewhat.

"When I was a kid I wanted to join the defence force to be like my heroes; just like Vangarre and Dunban…but things happened…and by the time I was old enough to join it was more so I could protect my friends. I'll be honest with you; out of all of us I think I'm probably the most afraid of dying…but I'll face that fear rather than suffer the pain of loss. I've already lost Shulk…and I'm not gonna lose Fiora as well…or you…or anyone else…"

Reyn raises his head a little.

"…strange sort of cowardice when you think about it. When the attack on colony 9 started I was terrified, but I did a good job of hiding it. I let my training take over at first, but once we got into the thick of it…well, I stopped worrying. There was one point, just before Dunban showed up when a mechon had me pinned down, and I was just to say jamming its jaws open with my gunlance. I was hairs breadth from being eaten and you know what was running through my mind? I just wanted Shulk and Fiora to be safe."

"…Survivor guilt isn't an easy thing to deal with Reyn, but from what I've seen from you so far I'm in no doubt whatsoever you went well above and beyond the call of duty as a member of the defence force…and as their friend."

"Thanks Sharla."

"You know Reyn…that was actually pretty helpful for me as well. To be completely honest with you I couldn't shake the feeling that there was a lot of truth in Juju's words. I felt like I was abandoning Gadolt when we evacuated but given what Xord turned out to be capable of I'd have been a liability if I'd stayed; on his own Gadolt would at least be able to fight on his own terms and not have to worry about protecting me…but…I just wish he could've come with me…"

"…Responsibility. That's why. One of the things about being part of the defence force is you don't leave anyone behind; especially if you're an officer…"

"Then why did he ask me to?..."

"To save what was left of the colony. He trusted you with that Sharla; he gave you the most important task of all. The people back at the camp; those kids; they're the future of the colony. Someone had to make sure they're safe. He had to make an awful decision Sharla; but I think he made the right one…and you deserve a lot of credit for sticking by him on that."

"I guess I just couldn't see it that way before…but I think I know what I need to do now."

Fiora interrupts the conversation.

"I had a little chat with Juju and I don't think he's going to do that again Sharla…but he did make me promise him that I'd get you to give me a check over."

"Sounds like he's learnt his lesson…I'm sorry you got hurt…"

"I can't really blame him for that; I was spoiling for a fight with the mechon so it'd probably have happened sooner or later anyway. I'm not that bad either; I doubt it's anything more than a few strained muscles."

The party get back to the camp.

"Right, do you want to come to the back of the caves Fiora? I've got a cubicle of sorts set up there."

Fiora makes her way into the cave with Sharla.

"Well…I'll get us all some hot drinks; it's not been easy going."

"Thanks Juju; are you okay?"

"I'm alright Reyn; just wish I could've had a reality check that didn't involve making trouble for everyone."

"Well I don't think we did too badly all things considered; and we managed to get a better idea of what to expect from face mechon without losing anyone…and don't worry about anyone being angry with you; to be honest I'm just relived we all made it, and I'm sure Sharla's the same."

"I…I'm worried about Fiora though. I don't know what she did back there but I've never even heard of anything like it; and seemed like it was more than she could handle."

"There's a lot we don't know about the Monado. I guess it kind of saved us again but…it's always been a risk Juju. I saw what it did to Dunban in the end…Fiora looked after him for the whole of last year so she's under no illusions of the risks either; but it's the only thing that truly works against the mechon at the moment."

"…You…want to try and take some of the burden from her don't you?"

"I do what I can Juju; but I know where I can and can't help. The best way I can help her now is just to make sure she doesn't have to use it like that."

"Is she the only person who can use it?"

"Right now, yes I'm afraid. I've tried my luck with it; it fought me so hard it nearly threw across the lab; and if the records of previous attempts are anything to go by I got off lightly."

Meanwhile Fiora's treatment gets underway.

"Is collecting bruises a hobby of yours?"

"I know they hadn't faded completely but; they'd stopped troubling me so I figured it'd be fine to head out."

"You should've given it a few more days Fiora; I'm not completely sure what the Monado did to you but it seems to have aggravated just about every old injury you were carrying."

"It's just bruising Sharla; it's nothing serious."

"Bruising doesn't normally get worse spontaneously though."

At that moment Fiora sneezes; as she wipes her nose she realises it's bleeding pretty heavily.

"Urgh! That's never happened before."

"…I think the Monado might've messed up your body chemistry a little. If all your bruising just got worse and you've no history of spontaneous nosebleeds…your blood might not be clotting properly right now."

"I feel fine Sharla."

"You wouldn't necessarily feel anything Fiora. One big problem you'll have right now though is if you do get hurt I don't think you'll heal very well if at all."

"So what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to try an old field medic's trick involving a blue ether transfusion. Blue ether crystals normally stimulate the healing process; there are certain illnesses that can cause the symptoms you're experiencing and I know these can be alleviated this way."

"Are there any risks?"

"If the treatment's too aggressive you'll end up with a minor blue ether imbalance; which is pretty trivial compared to the risks of leaving you untreated."

"Okay then, fire away."

"Funny you should say that Fiora; the treatment does require ether rifle rounds."

Sharla breaks open some of her ether shells and empties the contents, which look like a fine blue powder into a flask. She then adds some distilled water and weak saline solution and dissolves them before adding some other ingredients."

"Right then, crystals…a little bit of vitamins…touch of glucose…okay, I've got the mix sorted."

"So do I drink this?"

"Afraid not; it won't do you much good unless you take it intravenously."

"…let's get this over with…"

"I wasn't expecting you to have an issue with needles."

"It's not such much that; more to do with all the time Dunban spent in and out of the hospital wing all last year. Medical paraphernalia doesn't have many good memories associated with it for me."

Sharla gets a drip set up for Fiora.

"Okay then; now that we've got that sorted we're going to have to wait a while for it to take effect. If you don't mind me asking Fiora; how are you really doing?"

"…I'm not okay Sharla; and I won't be until I've avenged Shulk."

"I don't think that's going to be the solution Fiora."

"True; but I can't move on until it's done. Metal Face took Shulk from me…and as long he's still out there I know he'll come back…and who'll it be next time? Reyn? Dunban? You? He's not like the other Mechon; he isn't just some machine, he enjoyed what he was doing. He beat me down until I was helpless…and then instead of finishing me he killed Shulk right in front of me. It's not going to happen again Sharla, and I don't care what it takes. As soon as I'm stable we're mounting a rescue mission to colony 6."

"…You can't help anyone if you're dead Fiora. I still don't know how much damage you've sustained and I need to make sure you're not going to deteriorate. Once that transfusion kicks in your body should, and I quote 'should', start to heal itself properly again. Once that's done I'll be able to assess your existing injuries with a greater degree of clarity, and then we'll able to determine if you're in any fit state to be fighting your way through what's likely to be an entire fortress worth of mechon."

"Why do we have to resort to this transfusion business? Healing ether techniques work through simple exposure and they're usually instantaneous as well."

"Ever noticed how healing ether doesn't work for illnesses and infections? What you're suffering from would be better described as a form of illness rather than an actual injury; simple healing ether would alleviate your immediate superficial injuries, but it would do nothing for the underlying cause of the more serious problems. Taking the blue ether as a transfusion allows it to persistently treat your injuries, as well as providing a degree of deeper healing to your body."

"How's Reyn doing? He…wasn't really himself during that fight."

"He's got his head back together for now but; he's terrified of losing you Fiora. Do him a favour and look after yourself; because I don't think he'll be able to cope if anything happens to you."

"He needs to watch out for himself as well; he's fighting more recklessly now that…Shulk's gone."

"It's not that; he wants to keep you safe. Deep down he still feels responsible for what happened to Shulk."

"…and he wants to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to me…no matter what it takes…"

"Between you and me; I think there's a lot more to this than a case of misplaced guilt."

"I think I understand what you're saying Sharla…right now…I'm pretty sure I feel the same way he does. He's…already a lot more than just a friend…but…I…I don't think either of us can be completely honest with our feelings until we've laid Shulk to rest."

"So you do have feelings for him?"

"I guess there's no point trying to deny it; I've always liked him but…I'd had my heart set on Shulk…and I've no doubt whatsoever Shulk felt the same way about me...but just being with Reyn now brings me a lot of comfort. I want to be with him Sharla…but I want to be sure of why. If I'm just using him as crutch or a replacement for Shulk…he deserves better…he deserves someone who'll want to be with him for being himself."

"…I haven't known him long but he strikes me as a pretty honest and decent guy, and I don't think he's trying to be anything he isn't. When you were with Shulk…how was he?"

"He was never anything other than supportive. My…relationship with Shulk didn't seem to interfere with his relationship with either Shulk or myself."

"I think the reason he's doing his best to look after you isn't some promise he made to Shulk. I don't think his true motives have ever changed Fiora; I think he just wants you to be happy."

"Do you think he wants us to be…you know…more than friends?"

"…the only way you'll get an answer to that question is by talking to each other; although I'm pretty sure he's very fond of you to say the least."

"…hehehe…this is really strange. We haven't known each other long but I'm spilling my guts to you already."

"We're…in a pretty similar situation Fiora so I guess I can relate. You really needed to talk to someone outside of what happened at colony 9 as well."

"How much longer until the treatment takes hold?"

"We should be seeing results in the next few minutes."

"Good…and Sharla; don't give up hope."

"Hope for the best…but prepare for the worst."

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere on mechonis…

"I still fail to see why you continue to invest time and energy into him sister."

"His ether circuit is perfect; it's on the same level as the optimum projections for Face Nemesis, and he's not even complete."

"His core won't accept an imprint no matter what we try. How are we supposed to make him useable?"

"If nothing else he's extremely valuable for research purposes, and he makes for surprisingly good company."

"Sigh…he's supposed to be a weapon. Have you come up with a name yet?"

"On account of his odd duality I've considered Janus, after the two faced mythical figure."

"That does seem appropriate. His normal aversion to violence contrasts stunningly with his savagery when you hit the right switches."

"It isn't nice doing that you know. I don't think he'll ever be useable as an actual combat unit, but he might function well as a mobile maintenance unit; he could conceivably work wonders providing repairs and upgrades in the field."

"Interesting idea, but how are you going to use him if he won't accept imprints? That fact alone is somewhat disturbing; makes me wonder if we've misidentified his species."

"I'll accompany him personally. He seems to have formed some sort of a bond with me, and given his non-violent nature I highly doubt he'd pose a threat in the event of a malfunction."

"Are you sure this is wise? I don't want you putting yourself in danger for the sake of a bit of research."

"I'll be piloting the Nemesis prototype so I'll be equipped to deal with trouble."

"Very well, but stay away from the colonies."

There's a short pause.

"Okay then Janus, I've got permission."

"So that's my name, can't say I care for it."

"Best I could come up with I'm afraid."

"Are we alone now?"

"We should be able to talk in private."

"We need to move soon, probably in the next few days."

"I'm not confident you'll be stable by then."

"As long as I can survive the journey that's all that matters."

"You'd go this far for her?"

"She'd do the same without a second thought. You do realise if something goes wrong in all this you'll end up in the firing line? "

"I'm willing to take that risk. I don't know what you are but I know you're one of the most decent people I've met."

"You give me too much credit. I simply followed the examples set for me."

"Aw come here!"

"I…I'm sorry. I'm not sure about my feelings right now. I just know I need to make sure she's safe."

"I understand. I can't help but think I'd have followed a different path if I'd met you earlier in my life."

"Thank you, and not just for this. If you've got any doubts I don't mind going back to the original plan."

"No, you need to succeed, and if I can actively assist you it'll improve your chances."

"It's just such a big risk for you, after you've done so much for me already."

"I owe you far more; we'd taken everything and the pain we put you through..."

"It's okay…you're….warmer than I was expecting."

"I guess this is the first time we've actually touched. I'm not too sure of my own feelings yet either, but I know you're a dear friend now."

"I'll guess we'll both have to figure out where our hearts are as this unfolds. It's unfortunate we have to balance so many conflicting factors; my completion against my need to take action; your desire to help me against your love for your brother…and the desire for a future for Mechonis against the need to protect the people of Bionis. One certainty I have right now though is a promise I made…a promise to my very soul that no matter what I'd see to it that she'd get to live and find happiness."

"If that's the way you feel then surely…"

"I've got a feeling now there's someone else who feels the same way. Someone I know I can trust…even more than myself; someone who'll succeed where I failed."

"The path to the future isn't set in stone. That someone may yet be you…and if she decides it is don't turn her down for the sake of your own lack of confidence."

"…You're right. I'm much stronger now…but no matter what I'll respect her wishes."

"You get some sleep now. You're still incomplete and work will be faster if you're not conscious."

"I understand…I'll awaken when it's time."

"…Rest well now…You hide your pain well, but it's only too clear to me. I can alleviate your physical suffering, but I hope she can be the one to ease your emotional torment…and if not, I will try to bring you comfort."

A new female voice can be heard.

"You shouldn't feel guilt for what's happened. It was not by your choice or hand…"

"I had a part in it. I can't deny that. We should have tried to stop this sooner."

"We didn't know there was another way until now. He defied fate, just as she continues to do, and that has changed everything. Protect him if you can, but she must live, no matter what."

"I understand my Lady."

"Is there something on your mind?"

"I need to apologise to him for intruding."

"I guess you couldn't help yourself, but it is wrong to pry in that manner. That facility was designed for the purpose of recovering the lost memories of the deceased, not invading the minds of the living."

"Tell that to my brother. I worry he's slipping now."

"There's still hope for him. He won't listen to words anymore, but they might be able to show him a path to new future…as for her, we need to move, fast."

"Janus, he's still not finished…"

"Trust him on this, if he thinks he can make it it's time to go."

"…I don't want him to sacrifice himself…not after everything he's been through…"

"You heard his words; if we fail to save her all his suffering will have been for nothing. I don't know how much longer she has."

"I understand…"

"You've developed feelings for him haven't you?"

"I won't try to deny it; I'm still a little unsure but…he's a friend now, at the very least, and there's no way in hell I'm going to let this cost him his future. They're both going to make it…"

"If I didn't know you better I'd suspect you were developing a self-destructive streak."

"Think of it more as a new found willingness to gamble with very high stakes."

"It's a fine line. Don't forget that."

"Didn't you once tell me thanks to way fate works in this world it's perfectly possible to make your own luck?"

"The dice have always been loaded, it's a simple case of knowing how they work."

"Take a little look at my side projects."

"…Now I am impressed."

"I can replicate it. I might only be able to get the most basic of functions but it should be enough to shift the odds in my favour."

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere on Bionis…

"It would seem her resistance to our influence has deeper roots than we suspected. She's become a liability we need to remove without delay."

"I disagree. She's the only viable substitute for now; without her our plans have no means of moving forward."

"You know as well as I do homs are not supposed to be capable of that."

"And you are no doubt aware homs have evolved somewhat; she's certainly not the only one."

"Accepted, but the evolution was always considered to be due to genetic contamination, and what she displayed is outside of the boundaries of capability of any of the races of the Bionis."

"…the Monado could be adjusted to compensate."

"Absolutely not; its present state is attuned to me; altering it significantly will hamper my ability to influence events in its presence."

"Her own ether signature is opposed; releasing her latent abilities results in forced rejection."

"That may be so, but it may yet prove useful regarding the later stages of the scenario."

"That is if we get that far; and you said it yourself, you can't influence her."

"Then it would appear we have found ourselves at contrary opinions; what do the projections indicate?"

"They are still unclear; but they indicate to me that leaving the Monado as it is will likely result in her being unable to complete the journey."

"…this is one dilemma I could have done without. She was supposed to be eliminated; not him…all our problems stem from that one deviation."

"We do have some time before a critical event is likely to occur. Given the inherent instability of the situation waiting may allow a new course of action not indicated by the projections to present itself."

"Then we wait and see; but I will say this; altering the Monado is an absolute last resort. Use absolutely any other viable course of action available."

"Very well; I'll keep a close eye on the projections. One way or another I'll assure the meeting."


End file.
